Sherdog’s Guide to ‘The Ultimate Fighter’

We begin this week with members of Team Miller directing their van
driver to a nearby curb. One might think that with the biggest
fight of his life looming, Dustin
Pague would only have himself on his mind, but standing near
the curb is a homeless man and Pague leans out to hand him a Ziploc
bag filled with fruit.

“Here you go, sir. God loves you, brother,” Pague says. It's a true
good deed from a member of the group known as the “Bible Study”
boys.

“We don’t do too much other than train and pick on each other,”
says Pague, who hopes to make a little difference in the man’s
life, if only for a full belly.

Another member of group Bible Study is teammate Johnny
Bedford, who explains that it’s great to have a guy like Pague
around. Bedford says that fighters are always battling negative
stereotypes, and that Pague helps debunk some of them.

“There are hooligans and bad people,” says Bedford, adding that
given the size and scope of the sport of MMA there are all sorts of
characters within its ranks, even good guys like Dustin.

At the same time Pague’s moral training is peaking, his fight
preparation is coming along nicely as well according to Coach
Mayhem. Lately Pague’s spent time working on moving his feet to
avoid takedowns and create angles which will be crucial in his
fight with T.J.
Dillashaw.

“I think I’m the underdog,” says Pague, who knows he’s got an
uphill battle against Team Bisping’s second-best bantamweight after
finishing off their first pick, Louis
Gaudinot.

After training, Jason
Miller’s tires screech outside at the TUF mansion, as he and
his coaching crew roll into the house for a BBQ. Following the
feast, a group is shooting the breeze outside when a challenge is
laid out: eat a cockroach, win money.

“Show me the money and I’ll eat a cockroach,” says Pague and
instantly the patio posse sets out to find la cucaracha.

“They are like castaways on an internet-less island,” says Miller,
happy to prey on their boredom. “It was only natural that we go
into a Joe Rogan, 'Fear Factor'-esque challenge.”

The search party returns with a tiny roach, a roly poly and a baby
beetle, stuffing them into a Gatorade bottle that still has some
fluid in it. Pague takes it all down to the delight of peers and
his Mayhem is delighted to pay the "Fear Factor" winner's fee.

“I am freaked out by spiders and crawly things, and I put them in
my mouth and I chewed them. What is wrong with me?” laughs
Pague.

The next day, both teams arrive at the Palms Casino Resort in Las
Vegas, where Dana White is awaiting them at the Ghost Bar on the
roof. Before him stands an air hockey table which can mean only one
thing: it’s time for the coaches’ challenge. Neither of the coaches
is thrilled with the choice of air hockey.

“This isn’t my cup of tea, I’ll put it that way,” says Bisping,
while Miller mutters “Damn it, I should have trained for this."

White lays out the stakes, with the winner earning $10,000 and each
of his team members receiving $1,500 if their coach wins. It’s the
14th season and approximately the 14th time Dana has said that this
is his favorite part of the season, mostly because it provides
relief for the fighters. Bisping wins the first two games easily
and begins to trash-talk, leading to his boss throwing some cold
water on his optimism.

“To be honest with you,” says White, before pausing, “... they both
suck.”

Most of Miller’s points come from Bisping’s own shots. Once Bisping
begins jawing at his rival coach, White thinks the Brit might blow
it. Miller promptly fights back to take the third game, and White
thinks Bisping just might lose.

“That was a damn stressful situation honestly,” says Miller, who
succumbs to the pressure and allows Bisping to take the final
game.

A jubilant Bisping jumps up on the table to wave around his
winnings, only to fall flat on his back when attempting to hop back
down. Both teams erupt in laughter.

“One minute, you're celebrating, 'I’m the king of the world,' and
then you are laying on your ass looking like a jackass in front of
millions of people on television," explains White. Bisping says his
elbow is a little sore but that the cash took away any sting from
the fall. Afterward, Miller laments not being able to score any
cash for his team members since they could all use it. but he
assures the home viewer that “the real coaches challenge is on Dec.
3."

Back to tonight’s matchup of T.J. Dillashaw and Dustin Pague. Team
Bisping assistant coach Tiki Ghosn calls
T.J. the best wrestler on the show and says his combination of
ground skills, strength and punching power put him in position to
“impose his will” on his opponents.

In the first round, Dillashaw and Pague spend a minute trying to
find one another’s range before the Team Alpha Male fighter blows
right throw Pague with a tackle takedown. Pague angles for a
submission attempt off his back, but Dillashaw powers through and
continues to look for some ground-and-pound. Eventually, Pague gets
to his feet and rocks Dillashaw with a knee that lands flush on his
face, but he brushes it off wins the first round easily.

In round two, it's more of the same as Dillashaw gets another
takedown. This time, he lands some knees to the body and almost
mounts Pague but those long legs keep getting in the way. Dillashaw
cuts Pague’s face with some hard ground-and-pound shots, but Pague
returns the favor by throwing some elbows from off his back that
bloody Dillashaw's face enough to earn a third round.

Round three is more repetition, with Pague on his back early and
absorbing more punishment from Dillashaw. This time, Dillashaw
begins to separate in the scoring, giving Pague a complete tune-up
and landing all sorts of punches and elbows from on top while
keeping Pague from mounting any sort of real offense.

Dillashaw takes the third-round decision, securing his spot as the
first entry in the bantamweight finals. Coach Bisping is confident
that his charge will win the show and go on to have a great UFC
career.

“To Dillashaw’s credit, he’s got a chin on him because Dustin
landed a solid knee right to his face piece,” says Miller.

“You just got to move forward,” offers a disappointed Pague
afterwards and his coach heads over to console him and tell him
he's proud of him, while Pague thanks him for all the help this
season.

“Dustin Pague doesn’t need to concern himself about this loss,”
says Miller “Just use it for fuel for his fire because he has a
bright future.”